PANAJI
The nine-day holy festival of Navratri which began on Saturday will not be celebrated with the usual pomp and gusto in the State as organizers and temple committees have voluntarily decided to curtail festivities in the wake of rising Covid cases.
Many temples have decided to suspend public functions and only hold bare minimum rituals, while some have decided to go online and broadcast the programmes.
Navratri mandals have also taken a conscious decision not to erect pandals for Goddess Durga in light of the ongoing pandemic this year and organisers have deciding to curtail Durga pujas, Dandiya, Garbha and allied traditional festivities.
Some of the famous temples in the State that usually attract thousands of people during the nine-day festival are Lairai Devastan Shirgao, Mahalakshmi Temple, Panaji, Shantadurga Kavlem, Mangesh Devasthan, Mangueshi, Navdurga Madkai, Shantadurga Devasthan Fatorpa and Shantadurga temple, Marcel.
However, some temples in the city will live-stream rituals like ghatastapana and the aarti of the goddess on their websites or social media pages.
Navratri is one of the most popular festivals and is called the longest dance festival of the world. Garba is a popular folk dance of Gujarat and is performed with passion and fervour during the Navratri festival where revellers dance to the tune of traditional music and songs for nine nights.
